title: Whole blood fatty acid composition at birth: from the maternal compartment to the infant.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The biological role of fatty acids (FA) in the perinatal period is under active investigation. We here describe the application of a simplified microanalytical procedure to compare the FA profile of maternal, umbilical cord and infant whole blood, inclusive of all circulating lipid fractions and cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  The FA composition has been analyzed with a micromethod in 16 triplets, including maternal blood, cord blood at delivery and infant blood at day 4, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As expected, the FA composition of blood samples withdrawn from the umbilical cord is more similar to the FA composition of blood from 4-day old infants than the FA pattern of maternal blood at delivery. Nevertheless, infant blood FA profile differed from cord for lower long-chain polyunsaturated FA and higher monounsaturated FA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our explorative data using whole blood microanalysis confirm the progressive increase of long-chain polyunsaturated FA levels from the mothers towards cord and then infant blood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Pediatric Sciences, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. carlo.agostoni@unimi.it
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Agostoni
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Enrica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Risé
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannini
authors.forename: Franca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marangoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated